Explanatory Memorandum to COM(2005)113 - Rapid Response and Preparedness Instrument for major emergencies - Main contents
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| dossier | COM(2005)113 - Rapid Response and Preparedness Instrument for major emergencies. |
|---|---|
| source | COM(2005)113  |
| date | 06-04-2005 |
- Grounds for and objectives of the proposal
In its Communication on the Financial Perspectives adopted on 14 July 2004, the Commission called for action at European level to provide a common response to emergency situations of different origin in an efficient and coordinated way. Action would cover both solidarity and rapid reaction, with measures allowing for immediate response and providing assistance in the aftermath of a major crisis.
The objective of the present proposal is to develop the rapid reaction strand of the Commission’s integrated approach, in order to provide for Community financial assistance to support and complement the efforts of Member States for the protection of people, the environment and property by contributing to the effectiveness of systems for the preparedness for and response to major emergencies regardless of their origin as well as to prepare for and respond to public health effects arising from major emergencies.
The solidarity strand is developed through a complementary proposal of a “European Union Solidarity Fund”.
- General context
Many events may lead to the occurrence of major emergencies with actual or potential catastrophic consequences for people, property and the environment at large. Such major emergencies may be caused by a wide range of factors and actors since they can result from the action of man, including through the operation of industrial facilities and terrorist attacks, or natural phenomena, such as earthquakes, floods, storms, etc.
In such crisis situations, civil protection actors have proved to fulfil an essential role in responding on very short notice to the occurrence of major emergencies and contributing to manage and mitigate their consequences helping to reduce the loss of human life, injuries, environmental, economic and material damage.
The effectiveness of rapid response interventions depends to a very large extent of what has been achieved in advance to prepare for the adequate means and equipments to be dispatched on-site and intervene there; hence, the need to give to preparedness all the attention it deserves and adequately support it.
The effectiveness and efficiency of civil protection actors within the Member States may clearly benefit from a pooling of their resources and mutual assistance; such concerted action would also benefit the people and local communities affected by major emergencies.
The Community has a legitimate role to fulfil in that context since it can help to go and act beyond the boundaries of one specific State. To that effect, a mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions has been established in 2001 i. This mechanism facilitates making support available in the event of major emergencies which may require urgent response action through the mobilisation of intervention teams, experts and other resources, as required, through a reinforced Community civil protection structure consisting of a monitoring and information centre and a common emergency communication and information system. It also provides an opportunity for collecting validated emergency information, for disseminating that information to the Member States and for sharing lessons learnt from interventions.
The provision of Community financial support, which in itself is not new (see below), clearly constitutes a useful contribution of the Community to the operations and interventions of civil protection actors taking duly into account the subsidiarity principle (see below).
- Existing provisions in the area of the proposal
The Community has developed a series of measures and actions in the field of civil protection, in particular:
i) Council Decision 1999/847/EC of 9 December 1999 established a Community action programme in the field of civil protection, which was to expire by the end of 2004, but which was extended until the end of 2006 i.
ii) Council Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom of 23 October 2001 establishing a Community mechanism to facilitate reinforced cooperation in civil protection assistance interventions.
The first instrument/programme has a specific deadline and is accompanied by multi-annual specific budgets; it will end in 2006. The latter instrument, however, has no financial nature; it lays down obligations for the Member States and the Commission.
This proposal will constitute, once adopted, the new legal basis for granting Community financial support to civil protection actions and measures in the field of preparedness and rapid response.
To that effect, the proposal build sup on the existing instruments while widening and setting out in more detail the actions eligible for funding. The range of actions that could potentially be financed under the proposal, in terms of preparedness and rapid response, is wide since the Instrument to be established could finance actions ranging from capacity building assistance, demonstration projects, awareness and dissemination actions to training and exercises, dispatching and sending out of experts and mobilisation on short notice of adequate means and equipment. Particular attention has also been given to identify logistical support actions, such as secure communication systems and tools, which are necessary for the proper achievement of rapid response interventions.
Since the extra EU activities of the Community Civil Protection Mechanism are covered by the Stability Instrument, the proposed instrument applies to its internal activities.
In addition, taking into account the evolution of the relevant Community regulatory framework, the proposal incorporates new provisions about the monitoring of financed actions to ensure sound financial management of the instrument as well as other measures to ensure the adequate protection of the Community financial interests.
- Consistency with other policies and objectives of the Union
The proposal builds to a certain extent on existing policy instruments which have to be supplemented in any case because of their time-limited nature. Together with the new EUSF, whose scope has been enlarged to all major emergencies regardless of their origin, it closes a gap in current legislation and allows for comprehensive Community action in response to major emergencies and crisis situations.
Particular attention has been given to avoid duplication with actions carried out under other Community policies and instruments. Consistency with other Community policies, in particular in the fields of justice, liberty and security policy and external relations, is ensured by a number of provisions which, among others, clearly define the scope of the instrument and exclude double financing.
- Consultation of interested parties
Regular evaluations of past and current Community initiatives in this field have been made, in close consultation with relevant stakeholders at Member States level. They have always been positive.
Acknowledging the work undertaken in the framework of the Mechanism, the European Council and the Council have repeatedly called upon the Commission to continue and intensify its efforts in this field. Similarly, the European Parliament has called for a further strengthening of cooperation in the field of civil protection.
- Collection and use of expertise
229There was no need for external expertise.
Contents
- 305 Summary of the proposed action
The proposal aims to establish a Preparedness and Rapid Response Instrument for major emergencies, which should contribute to the development and implementation of Community civil protection measures, as a contribution to help improving the effectiveness of systems for preparing for and responding to major emergencies.
The proposal contains provisions which fit its predominant financial nature since the latter set out rules and procedures on issues such as: the specific objectives the financing of which under the Instrument would contribute to achieve; actions eligible under the Instrument; beneficiaries; financial and implementing measures; monitoring; protection of Community financial interests; as well as the appropriate institutional provisions.
- 310 Legal basis
According to Article 3(1)(u) of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the activities of the Community is to include measures in the sphere of civil protection.
Civil protection intervention is also relevant in respect of radiological emergencies; hence, the need to base this proposal also on the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom Treaty).
In the absence of an ad hoc civil protection legal basis in neither the Treaty establishing the European Community nor the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, this proposal is based on Articles 308 and 203, respectively, of those Treaties.
These two legal bases are compatible and can be cumulated since they provide for the same decision-making procedure.
- Subsidiarity principle
The subsidiarity principle applies since the proposal does not fall under the exclusive competence of the Community.
The proposal is justified in light of the subsidiarity principle insofar as its objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and that Community action will better achieve them.
The objectives of the proposal cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States for the following reasons.
When an emergency occurs, immediate response is needed in order to fight its consequences. No country is prepared to every and each eventuality. Therefore, it is more efficient and cost effective to draw on assistance offered by other States.
The new instrument will allow, inter alia, Member States to respond to major emergencies and crisis situations where their own means would not be sufficient to do so. States usually do not scale their rapid response means and equipment on the basis of the worst possible scenario since this would usually exceed their financial possibilities. (It is difficult to establish and maintain all year long large teams and a significant number of heavy intervention equipment, such as fire-fighting planes, while major emergencies can, for certain types of them, only occur infrequently, but with severe consequences, or typically during a limited period of time in the year.)
Similarly, if the preparedness of the requesting Member State is not sufficient for an adequate response to a major emergency in terms of available resources, that State would be able to supplement its preparedness by availing itself of the support made available by the instrument.
Community action will better achieve the objectives of the proposal for the following reasons.
Community cooperation, inasmuch as it supports and supplements national policies in the field of civil protection, will contribute to make them more effective; pooling of experience and mutual assistance will help to reduce the loss of human life, injuries, material damage and economic and environmental damage throughout the Community, making the objectives of social cohesion and solidarity more tangible.
Rapid response is triggered further to a request for assistance of the Member State (or other participating State) which activates the mechanism established by Decision 2001/792/EC, Euratom. The sending of such a request signals that the affected country considers itself that there is a need for Community coordination and the provision of mutual assistance by other Member States (and participating States).
The proposal therefore complies with the subsidiarity principle in as far as Community action aims at complementing and not replacing national capacities
- Proportionality principle
The proposal complies with the proportionality principle for the following reasons.
The purpose of the Instrument is beneficial in essence to the civil protection actors insofar as they will receive financial assistance. The related procedures and obligations imposed on beneficiaries are limited to what is strictly required to ensure lawful and sound financial management, since no additional requirements are provided in addition to what is required under the relevant Community legislation (that is, the Financial Regulation applicable to the general budget of the European Communities). Provisions on monitoring and the protection of the Community financial interests are however required in any case.
The administrative burden falling upon the Community and national authorities is limited and do not go beyond what is required to allow the Commission exercise its overall responsibility for the execution of the Community budget. For instance, no specific format (going beyond what the Financial Regulation provides) is required for submitting applications for funding.
Particular attention has also been given to ensuring that the procedures to be followed in the event of rapid response to major emergencies provide for the required flexibility allowing urgent action to be taken.
- Choice of instruments
It is proposed to use a Regulation.
Other means would not be adequate since the nature and content of some of the obligations provided for in the proposal can only be achieved through a directly applicable legal instrument.
T he proposed instrument aims at financing civil protection activities in the field of preparedness and rapid response.
As far as the preparedness is concerned, the following actions should be financed:
- training, exercises, workshops, exchange of staff and experts estimated at EUR 8.665 to 12.915 million per year;
- establishment and maintenance of secure communication system and tools estimated at EUR 1 million per year;
- as well as studies, surveys, modelling, scenario building and contingency planning; capacity building assistance; demonstration projects; technology transfer; awareness and dissemination actions; communication actions; provision of adequate means and equipment and monitoring assessment and evaluation, estimated at EUR 2.635 to 3.875 million per year.
The annual estimation in the field of preparedness sums up to EUR 12.3 to 17.79 million per year. The estimations are based on the cost of the actions realized in 2004 and 2005 in this field.
Concerning the rapid response, the following actions should be financed by the proposed Instrument:
- transportation and associated logistical support for experts, liaison officers, observers, intervention teams, equipment and mobile facilities; estimated at EUR 2.4 to 6 million per year
- dispatching and sending out of experts, liaison officers and observers; estimated EUR 0.3 to 0.4 million per year
- mobilisation on short notice of adequate means and equipment, estimated at up to EUR 4.81 million per year.
The annual estimation in the field disaster response sums up to EUR 2.7 to 11.21 million. The estimations are based on the cost of the actions realized in 2004 and 2005 in this field.
The overall annual budget for this instrument is therefore estimated at EUR 15 to 29 million per year.
Moreover, it is appropriate to earmark an amount of EUR 1 million per year to finance the technical assistance actions foreseen by the proposed instrument. Therefore the total amount is estimated to be EUR 173 million for the period of seven years.